Changing your message, any time you wish, is as easy
as typing. It can be done often and safely.

Quality electronic message center displays are
readable from a further distance, especially is poor
lighting.

Full color displays are vastly superior to monochrome displays in impressing potential customers. Fortunately they are no longer vastly more expensive!

You increase your employee's safety vs.
conventional letter-changing poles and plastic letters. Walgreen's Drug
Stores changed from manual readerboards to Electronic Message Centers
partially for employee safety. We were an expert witness in one such
tragedy leading to this change.

An electronic message center or video display will make your message
stand out from the crowd of signs around you.
Even displaying the time and temperature can give a
viewer valuable information which they will associate
with your business. Combining that capability with
animated messages, possibly in color, can really drive
your sales up, 15% to 150%!

Even the Federal Government has determined that signs
containing electronic message centers are safety
enhancing devices, not traffic hazards! This is
why they are used on federal roadways to communicate
with drivers.

Read what the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has to say about the
advantages and costs of signs for your business:

Read what the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has to say about the
advantages and costs of signs for your business:

Modern electronic message centers and video displays are illuminated
using LEDs. This lowers their operating cost by
80+% over older, incandescent systems. If the
system is properly designed the bulbs are part of a
modular display board that is easily removable and
changeable, thus helping to control service costs.
The “pitch” or spacing of the LEDs greatly affects
the appearance of the display, and the cost of the
unit.

In almost all instances an electronic message center
or video display is built into or attached to additional signs that
contains your name and other permanent information.
You need to work with a sign manufacturer, not just an
electronic message center salesman.

Why Should I Buy from Signs Manufacturing?

Signs Manufacturing is an excellent sign company, we make great signs. But just being a good sign company does not necessarily mean that a company can install and service Video Displays and Electronic Message Centers. They may be able to weld, install fluorescent lamps and roll paint, but can they build, program and service a computer?

Digital LED electronic message centers and video displays are very complicated computers, remotely served by other computers, use proprietary software programs, and are not what most sign company employees, or electricians, understand.

But because these signs are electrical they must be installed by a qualified electrical sign company or an electrical contractor. We are the largest electronic message center manufacturer in North Texas; one of only 3 in the entire State! And we are State licensed as both an electrical sign contractor and as an electrical contractor.

We know what we are doing when it comes to Electronic Message Center and Video Display fabrication and service. We even carry all parts in stock for immediate replacement if something fails.

A large part of our business is repairing mistakes other sign companies and electricians made installing signs they bought and resold to their customers.

"We paid $34,000 for a full-color LED message center from Wal**** Signs & Lighting. It took them 11 months to get it installed. It is now 4 months old and has never worked in full-color mode. They don't know how to make it work. Can you fix it?"

Jack Miller, Grace Point Church

Electronic Message Centers or Video Displays are usually built into additional signage, not installed by themselves. Doing so makes them less expensive and more effective at the same time!

But most electronic message center manufacturers do not manufacture additional types of signs.

Signs
Manufacturing makes more than electronic message centers and video displays.
We manufacture, install and service
church signs,
school signs,
apartment signs,
park signs,
governmental signs,
architectural signs, etc.
Interior signs as well as
exterior signs.

The Signs ManufacturingOn-Location Sales Team's Personalized Service

No matter what types of signs you are interested in, our sales team, consisting of 11 highly-trained individuals, is at your beck and call.

Let us meet with you in your office, or at your new signs location, or home, or anywhere.

You will probably have a firm quotation for what you want during our meeting; certainly no more than a day later.

Visit Our Unique Sign Lighting Laboratory and LED Display Showroom

Unique in the entire sign industry, Signs Manufacturing™ built an 85’ by 50’ (over 4,000 sq ft) indoor sign lighting laboratory for testing the longevity, visibility, and effectiveness of all the lighted signs we manufacture.

The Laboratory is open to the public, for FREE, adding an LED Video Display Showroom because we realized how important one would be to consumers.

If you are considering purchasing an LED Video Display or Digital LED Message Center sign this exclusive opportunity will be particularly important. You must determine what type of sign, and which LED spacing is best, so that your sign will be successful, considering how you will use it.

Therefore:

at least six (6) different full-color LED display signs representing all 3 design types, each with a varied resolution

How will shadows affect my sign's readability during the day? Should the wall behind my sign be light or dark colored? Would a different type of sign look better on my brick wall? Should I consider a routed sign face with push-through letters?

Don't buy a sign from a drawing when you can actually see and compare real signs.

Live Demonstrations of Signage Features

Sunsational™ Engineering

NASA's Ceramic Vacuum Microsphere Coating

Solarguard™ Protective Coatings

Signlux™ Paint Systems

Solar Finishes™ Bright Reflective White

Lumabrite™

Vandal-Resistant Coatings

Flexible Sign Face Installation Methods

No one else can offer you this unique opportunity. Be sure to take advantage.

Your business will be better because you do.

If you don't visit it could cost you thousands in sales every year.

Can you afford not to?

"I almost made a huge mistake by not listening to you and visiting your showroom prior to buying my sign. I thought I knew what I wanted, after listening to so many salespeople...boy, was I wrong. My vision of the sign did not jibe with what it would really turn out to be, even after viewing so many drawings. It was obvious the moment I entered the showroom. If I had stuck to my guns my sign would have been a disaster. I would have wasted a lot of money."

Cecil Drake, Drake Communications

Free Factory Tour

Come and see the array of equipment
and tools, and the facility dedicated to making good
signs.

Contact a sales consultant to arrange a plant tour.

Free Demonstrations

Arrange an on-site demonstration today! Demonstrations are available in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and all of North Texas.

™ - Significantly reduced initial billing to help you control your cash-flow.

Free Grand Opening Package

*
- We want you to be successful; here's another way we're helping. A free "Coming Soon" and "Grand Opening" banner with your name on it, and free "store" hours lettered on your door. *Minimum order required.

The Benefits of Buying Sunburst LED Displays™ Factory-Direct

You need answers to these questions before you buy (anything from anyone.) Don’t be a naïve consumer.

Competition

Signs Manufacturing™

Is there a showroom where you can view ALL sign types before you buy?

No

YES

Will the people who built the sign install it?

No

YES

Are the people who will install the sign factory-trained?

No

YES

Is the sign seller (broker) responsible if the sign is not installed properly?

*

YES

Is the sign installer responsible if the sign is not installed properly?

*

YES

Does the sign manufacturer provide Free Warranty Service?

No

YES

Does the sign seller (broker) provide Free Warranty Service?

No

YES

Does the sign installer provide Free Warranty Service?

No

YES

Is there one place to call for ALL services?

No

YES

Does the sign manufacturer provide free training?

Phone (China?)

YES

Does the sign seller (broker) provide free factory training?

No

YES

Do you call the sign seller (broker) with technical/usage questions?

No

YES

Does the sign factory provide free technical access?

Phone (China?)

YES

Where is Tech-support located? Hours (local time?)

?

Dallas

Where do you obtain training for new employees?

?

We come to You

Can you view the sign as it is being made?

No

YES

Can you customize your sign?

No

YES

Does the sign seller (broker) control the manufacturing and installation time table?

No

YES

Are there 2nd and 3rd party profit markups?

YES

No

* A poorly installed EMC can void a factory warranty, leaving YOU to haggle responsibility with the installer and sign seller (broker.) For instance, without a separate grounding electrode being installed during the installation of most LED signs the manufacturer’s warranty is void. Will you know if your installer doesn’t install a grounding electrode? Problems will probably begin to occur months later.

Is the sign installer working for you, or the factory, or only the sign seller (broker?) Who is legally responsible?

Who has the financial ability to remedy accidents and omissions? Single-source responsibility is best. Product liability insurance is good, too.

Sunburst Displays™

With an electronic message center or video display you are leaving your computer out in the Texas rain, ice, heat and cold, and tornados and hurricane-force winds are trying to blow it away.

Sunburst Displays are built in Texas, for Texans, by us.™

We installed our first incandescent message center (time & temperature) in 1987, we manufactured and installed our first electronic digital LED sign in 1990.

They are only sold wholesale FACTORY-DIRECT to our customers.

Cost and Pricing Information

Interested in the concept of video displays and electronic message
centers, but unfamiliar with their cost?

Click on the "Cost" tab to the left, then the "Pricing"
tab, to obtain general pricing and cost
information on various sizes and types of LED
Electronic Message Centers and Video Displays.

When you do so notice how dealing directly with the manufacturer will save you additional thousands of dollars in sales/use taxes!

The
detailed construction and installation information below, and to the left, is very important in
developing a sign that will accomplish your goals.

Please contact us to develop a plan to meet your
particular needs.

Our professional staff will usually have exact quotations, and exact scale
drawings of your signs installed on your building or property ready for
you the same day we meet with you. (Much faster than the 2 1/2 week
average in our industry.)

If you are planning for the future, please bookmark
our website as a "Favorite" so you can find us when
you are ready.

The Best Investment You Can Make

How much would you invest to double your take-home pay?

The United State Small Business Administration (SBA) says that an LED message center sign in front of a business increases the store’s sales volume 15 – 150%.

This is all profit; expenses are already being paid.

Even with a 50% cost-of-goods this is an increase in take-home pay of 7.5% - 75%. Most businesses do not have this high a cost-of-goods.

It’s Black and White; what are your current sales? Do you want the additional income? Are you willing to invest $10.25 per day?

This is probably the safest investment in the world, with the highest potential return, for a business owner to make.

“In my previous 9 years of being in business I have never had 40 customers in a day. Since you put up my Sunburst™ LED Display sign I have so-far averaged 53 customers per day, but my business is still growing again.”

Muhammad Faridi, MD, McAllen Medical Center, Dallas, Texas

You May Qualify for a "BETTER THAN FREE™" Sign

Dependent on your location, Signs Manufacturing may be able to offer you INCOME from a FREE pole, pylon, monument sign, video display, or electronic message center.

The more colors, the more LED lights in each pixel,
the larger each pixel, the further back from the sign
you must be so that the sign is not “grainy.”

Display Capability - Palette

Because the intensity of a LED light can be changed by
increasing or decreasing the voltage to it, the better
monochrome displays feature over 4000 shades of
Red or Amber. Some manufacturers call this "grayscale."

The cheaper monochrome displays cannot vary their color intensity at all, they are truly one color. A Sunburst Displays™ sign can turn it's gradients feature "off" and display one-color monotone.

Pixel Size - Clusters vs. a Balanced Array™

Older generation displays group LEDs in clusters. A more modern Sunburst Displays™ utilize a Balanced Array™ for a superior appearance because the LEDs are evenly spaced, and more sophisticated software creates "virtual pixels."

Some electronic message center manufacturers try to overcome inferior LEDs (which are greatly less expensive) by adding more than one LED of the same color to each pixel.

This makes the pixel cluster larger, which makes the pitch larger, which increases the minimum viewing distance. It also uses more electricity.

Pitch

How far pixels are from one another is called
“pitch” and is usually expressed in millimeters (mm.)

The pitch must be small for a display not to appear
grainy up close.

Older color displays, because each pixel is actually an unequal cluster of 3 or more different colored LEDs, cannot have as small a pitch as a monochrome display or the appearance of a more modern display with a Balanced Array™. Therefore they must be viewed from a greater distance to have a quality appearance. There is a lot of blank space between pixels.

Old-style monochrome displays are available in 9mm, 19mm, 25mm, 35mm, 46mm
and larger, some very larger pitches.

The tightest pitch for a quality RGB color display is
17mm.

The distance between LEDs in Sunburst Displays™ Balanced Array™ can be as small as 6 mm, monochrome or full-color.

What is Pixel Density?

Pixels per square foot, in conjunction with Display Size, determines the visual quality of the display, and therefore the image of your business.

Pixel Density (PPF) is the number of pixels in a square foot of signage.

6mm Balanced Array™

2344* potential pixels/sq ft

8mm Balanced Array™

1462* potential pixels/sq ft

10mm Balanced Array™

930* potential pixels/sq ft

13mm Pixel Pitch

525 potential pixels/sq ft

16mm Pixel Pitch

362 potential pixels/sq ft

20mm Pixel Pitch

232 potential pixels/sq ft

* Deduct up to 768 Pixels if not surrounded by additional footage. A “Potential Pixel” is a group of LEDs that form a Full-Color Pixel if illuminated.

How to Determine a LED Display’s Resolution

A modern television’s potential Resolution is fixed at 2,073,600 pixels (1920 potential pixels wide x 1080 tall) regardless of size, big screen or small screen. Pixel Density varies. This is why a relatively small TV screen looks good when close to it, but a very large TV appears grainy up close because the pixels are farther apart. (Also recognize that when programs are not broadcast in 1080 they do not use all the TV’s pixels. Some are broadcast as low as 480.)

Unlike a television, in an LED sign the Resolution is determined by the fixed Pixel Density multiplied by the height and width of the display. The larger the screen the more total pixels, so the more detailed the image will be. Smaller screens must have much greater Pixel Density to be comparable in Resolution to a larger screen.

The Fallacy of “High Resolution” and “HD” in LED Sign Advertising

When competitors talk about all their LED signs being “High Resolution” or “HD” they confuse, rather than assist, consumers. Because an LED sign’s Resolution is totally dependent on the size of the sign they mislead when they promote these catchy marketing terms, possibly causing people to buy signs that cannot meet their needs.

Comparing LED signs to TV’s is “…comparing apples to oranges.”

Billboards, as an Example

Billboard displays have either 256 or 362 Pixel Density (19mm or 16mm pixel pitch) for a Resolution of 150,000 to 200,000 pixels. They can look good utilizing a lower Pixel Density only because of their enormous size, and long viewing distance. Viewed from up-close their images are VERY grainy.

Your sign will probably be viewed from much closer than a highway billboard, and be smaller. Your Pixel Density must be much better than theirs to achieve equal Resolution. For instance, even a 6mm Balanced Array™ must be 5’ x 20’ to have approximately the same potential Resolution as a billboard and maintain the same height-to-length ratio, so that identical images can be displayed on them both.

The Critical Importance of Resolution

All images and text MUST be scaled to the Resolution of the LED sign displaying them or they will be distorted. You’ve probably seen this pop-up notice on your computer screen: “For best image quality change resolution to…” We can’t change the screen’s Resolution, we have to adjust the image sent to the screen.

Smaller signs, lower Pixel Densities, and lower Light Densities are compromises that significantly lessen a sign’s performance, with relatively small cost savings. Your business will be better the higher the Resolution of your sign.

Matrix

How many pixels wide and high the display is, which determines how many of what size letters can be displayed at one time.

Most matrix dimensions are in multiples of 8 pixels, or virtual pixels in the case of a Balanced Array™.

A larger matrix can display more and larger information at one time.

The Advantages of a Balanced Array™

Creates a visually a more attractive sign with evenly spaced LED's.

The software generates 4 LED's per "virtual pixel" which allows:

▪ Illuminating a second red LED in each virtual pixel to create whiter Whites.

▪ Larger pixels and beefier letters containing more illuminated LED's for the same height when compared to a standard array.

LED's are 50% closer together than pixels are in a standard array, this provides a much tighter display appearance.

There are 33% more LED's in any given area. More than 1,000 in each square foot of sign face.

One Glare Shield (see below) per LED, rather than one per pixel, maximum.

Software can shift "pixel" locations to compact the vision even further.

Viewing Angles

As an automobile driver drives toward an electronic message center which is installed on a 20’ tall pole the vertical viewing angle increases from near 0° to almost 90° as the driver passes under the sign. As the viewing angle increases the intensity of the display decreases. The vertical viewing angle of the LEDs used in the display plays an important role in the usefulness of the display. (For more information on this see “Glare Shields or Louvers” below.)

As a driver drives toward an electronic message center installed on the side of a road the horizontal viewing angle increases from near 0° to 90° as the driver passes beside the sign. As the viewing angle increases the intensity of the display decreases in this direction also. The horizontal viewing angle of the LEDs used in the display also plays an important role in the usefulness of the display.

It is important to understand the vertical and the horizontal angle that the display will be viewed from.

LED lights are directional, and Glare Shields or Louvers can block visibility. High quality LEDs can be viewed by as much as 90° horizontally and vertically and still observe over 70% of the lumen potential.

Some LEDs lose virtually all of their light at angles over 45°. Less-expensive signs must therefore be viewed nearly straight-on to be legible.

Sunburst Displays™ are effective at radical angles.

Determining Your Minimum Display Size

This is not true for wording, however. Signs that have a larger pixel pitch will not be able to display small letters as clearly as a sign with a smaller pixel pitch (smaller pixel pitch means more dots per square foot).

Decide on how many lines of text vertically you need to display. Decide the maximum height of the letters you want each row to use.

Add at least 2” between rows, and 1.25” top and bottom. If you are going to use both upper and lower case letters allow additional space for the descending letters also. The amount of space varies by letter size and style. Will you want a lighted border around your message?

The cumulative total is how tall the minimum display height of your sign must be, in inches.

It is possible to go smaller, but it may require some experimentation with letter styles and spacing. Smaller letters probably require a tighter pitched sign.

If you plan on using some lower-case letters recognize that their shorter height is your shortest letter.

To determine minimum letter height for all sign pitches, multiply the pitch of a display you are considering, in millimeters (say 20), or by the LED spacing in a Balanced Array™ times 2, by 0.315. This tells you the smallest letter the display you are considering can reliably display.

Next, decide on the longest message you need to display. Count both the letters and spaces, and include space both before and after the message. Multiply by 0.3145. Now multiply by the pitch of a display you are considering, in millimeters (say 20), or by the LED spacing in a Balanced Array™ times 2. The answer is how long the sign display must be in inches to display the message adequately in most letter styles. Realize that some letter styles would require an even longer display, but this is a good average.

You now know if the size and pitch of the sign you are considering will meet your needs.

Desired Minimum Character Size

Smallest* Recommended Character Size

Classic™ Series - II

3.1”

6mm Balanced Array™

3.7”

Classic™ Series - III

3.7”

Ordinary 12mm Pixel Pitch

3.8”

8mm Balanced Array™

4.9”

Classic™ Series - VI

4.9”

Ordinary 16mm Pixel Pitch

5.0”

10mm Balanced Array™

6.2”

Classic™ Series - X

6.2”

Ordinary 20mm Pixel Pitch

6.3”

*For most letter styles to display adequately

Viewing Distances

The minimum Best Viewing Range is the point at which the display loses significant graininess or color breakdown. Distances can vary depending on the message being displayed.

The maximum viewing distance is the point at which the
smallest character which will be generated on the display
becomes unreadable. A potential solution is to
generate larger characters, but this may increase the
minimum viewing distance.

Best Viewing Ranges

Classic™ Series - II

25 feet+

6mm Balanced Array™

35 feet+

Classic™ Series - III

40 feet+

Ordinary 12mm Pixel Pitch

44 feet+

8mm Balanced Array™

45 feet+

Classic™ Series - VI

50 feet+

Ordinary 16mm Pixel Pitch

57 feet+

10mm Balanced Array™

55 feet+

Classic™ Series - X

60 feet+

Ordinary 20mm Pixel Pitch

70 feet+

Reading Time

The length of time letters are readable when moving towards them.

These times are only achievable when viewing signs made with LEDs with wide viewing angles.

Many signs reading times are much shorter for the same sized letter.

30 MPH

40 MPH

60 MPH

80 MPH

6" LETTERS

1.4 Seconds

1 Second

0.7 Seconds

0.5 Seconds

8" LETTERS

1.8 Seconds

1.4 Seconds

0.9 Seconds

0.7 Seconds

12" LETTERS

3 Seconds

2 Seconds

1.5 Seconds

1 Second

18" LETTERS

4 Seconds

3 Seconds

2 Seconds

1.5 Seconds

24" LETTERS

5.5 Seconds

4 Seconds

2.75 Seconds

2 Seconds

36" LETTERS

8 Seconds

6 Seconds

4 Seconds

3 Seconds

Prepared by Signs Manufacturing Corporation

The Operating System, and the Internal Controls in a Display

Besides the computer that is used to program the sign (see below) there is a processor (a controller) or a computer inside the sign in most systems.

We don't have a "computer" in our signs. The processor (controller) in our signs is a "mother-board" with a non-volatile memory and its sole purpose is to store and control using the commands you send it from the programming computer. This vastly superior system also uses less energy.

The processor stores up to 64 GB of text, images, and video. Enough memory to change the image on the sign every second for 723 days! The memory is permanent and non-volatile, no reprogramming after a power failure as is common in some competitive units.

Poorly engineered signs are programmed and controlled by a single computer that is hard-wired to the sign and must be left "on" at all times. Or, in other cheap signs a second "personal computer" is actually installed inside the sign.

The problem with either of these systems is that the sign is running on "Windows®" using a CD or hard-drive and is additionally subject to all the viruses, freezes, lock-ups and reboot problems that a personal computer faces. (As an example of the problems faced with a personal computer in the sign, who climbs the pole of a free-standing pole sign to reboot the computer after a power outage or computer lock-up? Service call.)

Plus, with all the moving parts in hard drives, disk drives, and other humidity and temperature sensitive components, a PC is a poor way to run a sign from inside the sign. They fail often enough when they are used in the controlled environment of a building.

Tremendous cooling is required when there is an "Intel® Inside" but many of these poorly engineered units don't even have cooling fans for the LED displays, much less the computer's processor chip.

Proprietary is BAD, not good.

To make you even more comfortable with our LED Signs, our processor's design doesn't lock-out other operating systems, forcing you to use only ours. Many competitors and virtually all Chinese signs do this. If they go out of business, and you have a problem with their processor or computer, the sign is trash.

If, heaven forbid, we go out of business and our processor fails, you can also replace it with several brands of generic processors (controllers) and operate your sign. (It won't be as efficient, versatile, and friendly as our system, but it will work.)

Both programmers (or controllers) are showing
the same image on the same sign, for a "head-to-head" comparison.

FREE Computer with Purchase

With your Sunburst Displays™ LED Sign purchase, for a limited time only, we will offer you a Dell Inspiron 15 model 3542 laptop computer (or equivalent) as a gift.

FREE Programming

We will program one computer with programming software for free as a part of our Turn-Key™ installation.

The sign runs on its own internal processor so the programming computer only needs to be "on" when you are changing the program.

Programming Software

"Our guy who did all the programming for the sign doesn't work here anymore and we can't get into the software to change the message. It has a password and we don't know what it is. I tried calling the company that built it but they're no longer in business!" - Mary Chriswell, Adams Valley Farms

More than any other part of the sign the programming software determines the usability of the system.

Most sellers of LED Display signs, whether they manufacture their signs or import them from China, brag about their "Proprietary" software used to operate their signs.

We don't.

Even though our key personnel are very comfortable writing computer programs in several programming languages, we realize that we will never be smarter than the thousands of Microsoft® engineers who worked together to create PowerPoint®.

Because of this, we created our open-architecture programming software designed to use PowerPoint® to create your animation and messaging; or CorelDRAW®, or Photoshop®, or any graphics software you are familiar with.

You already know how to program the sign because there's no new proprietary programming system to learn. However, tutorials are a part of our programming.

Proprietary is BAD, not good. Our system uses the ingenuity and creativity of thousands of software engineers, not just a small handful of programmers.

In the worst of all signs, the software to program the computer inside the sign is not even in the sign owner's possession. It is not on the programming computer, it is "on the cloud" (aka: OneDrive® or Google Drive®.) The sign’s computer must have high-speed internet access, and be “on” 24/7.

What if the sign manufacturer does not actually own the software, he uses a third-party system, and they notify you that in order to keep your sign operating you will now have to pay them $2,000 per month to continue access to the programming software. This happens all the time with other "free" software. Or, he controls the software "on the cloud" but goes out of business so your sign cannot be programmed by anyone.

Our programming is quick and easy, and “automatically” brings you more and more customers, without ANY increase in expenses!

oOur software, in the programming computer and not on the “cloud”, automatically enlarges your graphics and videos to fit the screen, with no additional steps required.

oDisplays can be programmed using PowerPoint®, CorelDRAW®, Photoshop®, or any graphics software.

o"Pixel Text" can be directly entered.

oYou can add multiple images at once, speeding set-up time.

oThe computer communicates with the sign via Wi-Fi, or Cat 5 cable, and only needs to be "on" when changing the program. The sign runs on its own internal processor. You can create a program at home, and download it to your sign when you get to your business, if you desire.

oOne click updates the sign.

oThe sign is capable of being connected to the internet, so that you can program your sign from home!

oOur system allows for the use of Text, Graphics, Animation, Slideshow, Video, Scheduling, Time, Temperature, and Automatic Brightness Control as described individually below.

Do you know that a .jpg image file automatically adjusts pixel locations as the image is scaled larger or smaller, to continuously create an image with smooth edges – not the choppy “building block” look of older image files (and older LED displays.)

Sunburst’s programming software does this also, to display the best image possible.

Superior™ and Enhanced™ Operating Modes

Sunburst LED Displays™ gives our sign owners the option of operating their signs in one of two different modes.

In Superior™ mode the sign operates by dividing an image into individual one-color dots (pixels), as many pixels as the signs standard Pixel Density and sign size will allow. It then uses four-led clusters to display the image by recreating these colored dots. Because of our Balanced Array™ the display has smaller holes between the colored dots and 25% more lighted LEDs at any one time, when compared to an older pixel cluster type display, creating a vastly superior image.

In Enhanced™ mode, only possible because of our Balanced Array™, the sign operates by dividing an image into four times as many pixels as the signs standard Pixel Density and sign size would allow, creating additional pixel locations between every standard pixel. Then our processor blends the image together to smooth color flow; envision using a paint brush rather than a dot-matrix printer. Images are much more vibrant. Lines are not as harsh.

In Enhanced™ mode Sunburst’s Balanced Array™ processors do this also, to display the best image possible.

Balanced Array™ in Superior™ Mode and Enhanced™ Mode

(As you move this picture away from you observe the clarity differences.)

Text, Graphics, or Both

Some competitive units only display text, some must display
text as a graphic (drawing), some can display both
text and graphics. Some competitors can only display "stick" letters (one line.)

Sunburst Displays™ proprietary software can display text and graphics, and we can vary the font (letter style) and the thickness of the letters.

Many varied letter-styles (fonts) are pre-programmed
in all our units.

All our units can also automatically place text over
graphics pictures.

On our monochrome units (one color) text and graphics can be displayed
in 1 or 256 shades of the one color. Full-color units
display 281,000,000,000,000 separate shades.

Animated Text and Graphics

All Sunburst Displays™ software can display fixed messages or graphics (drawings) or “scroll” messages or graphics (drawings) and include F/X features. We also show a display such as a cartoon with character movement, for instance.

Monochrome displays convert colors to shades of either Red or Amber (Yellow.)

Slideshow Playback

All Sunburst Displays™ programming can display pre-programmed messages and pictures in a slideshow format, much like a screensaver slideshow showing multiple messages or images.

Glare Shields (Louvers)

Glare shields, also called louvers, prevent a display’s LEDs from appearing to be lighted, by sunlight, making your message unreadable.

Sunburst Displays™ curved glare shields are individually molded into the actual face, not bolted on, to individually shade each LED.

These features guarantee that our shields are effective and positioned properly. They also allow our shields to be as small as possible to eliminate their interference with viewing our displays from below or above.

This is a very common problem with competitive displays with shields that are straight, or continuous. Theirs are less effective and must be much larger, limiting the viewing angles of their signs.

Automatic Brightness Control

Sunburst Displays™ and other quality displays automatically adjust their brightness to the current lighting conditions.

A good LED display that is bright enough to draw attention during the day is too bright at night without Automatic Brightness Control. It's like staring into a flashlight; nothing is readable!

Display Brightness

LEDs are affected by
voltage. For instance, an LED will burn nearly
100% brighter if you double the power feeding it.
The LED will last about 1/6 as long, however, making this
alternative quite expensive in total cost.

LED's dim as they age. At some point (subjective) they will need to be replaced because they are too dim. Feeding them less voltage extends their useful life.

Sunburst Displays' engineering goal was to balance brightness and longevity.

If only brightness is important a monochrome display that does not include a grayscale feature, or automatic brightness adjustment, will be the brightest, at least initially, because all LED's will always be fully-powered. The LED's can also be more closely packed because only one color of LED is used; room does not have to be dedicated to other-colored (RGB) LED's.

Colors in motion, though dimmer than monochrome, have proven to be a better attention-getter, and the displays last longer.

Time and Temperature Display

All Sunburst Displays™ can have the display intermittently, or constantly, display time and temperature. The system self-adjusts for daylight savings time. The system is more accurate when Internet is available (below.)

Computer Link Types

Wireless. In all Sunburst Displays™ a wireless router in the sign communicates, using a wifi signal, with the programming computer.

The other available options are:

Internet Controlled. Internet connection usually comes from a Cat.5 cable or wireless “bridge” that connects the sign to the existing network at the building. We strongly recommend that the Cat.5 cable be installed and connected to your network so that our sign’s built-in Remote Self-Monitoring and Remote Reporting are available (below) as well as Street-Smart™ Marketing Programs (above.)

Cellular Control. The unit can have a cellular modem installed so that it has internet access over the cell towers (if available). The software connects to the sign like normal, sends the program and the sign maintains the message in its non-volatile memory so that it remembers the message even in the event of a power failure.

Group Links. It is possible to have one computer control multiple electronic message centers (all Long John Silver’s are, for example.) This is an available option.

Ventilation

Heat is the enemy of LEDs. Sunburst Displays™ electronic message centers have multiple inflow and outflow ventilation fans. Additionally, every heat-producing component has its own internal cooling fan. Larger units incorporate air conditioners into their design. Excessive heat can shorten LED life by up to 80%.

In poorly engineered signs with little (passive) or no cooling, decreasing the pitch, increasing the size of pixels, or over-driving LEDs with higher-than-required voltage to increase their brightness, increases heat, shortening the life of the unit.

Some units vent out the front of the sign, some out their sides, and some out the rear. This affects how each unit can be installed. For instance, a unit that vents out its sides cannot be covered with brick.

Servicing

Some message centers are serviced by removing their face, some by removing their back, some by removing a frame around the face and sides of the sign. This also affects how each unit can be installed.

Solarbrite™ Light Emitting Diode (LED)
Technology

A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits incoherent monochromatic light when electrically biased in the forward direction. This effect is a form of electroluminescence. The color depends on the semiconducting material used, and can be near-ultraviolet, visible or infrared.

A LED is a special type of semiconductor diode. Like a normal diode, it consists of a chip of semiconducting material impregnated, or doped, with impurities to create a structure called a pn junction. Charge-carriers (electrons and holes) are created by an electric current passing through the junction, and release energy in the form of photons as they recombine. The wavelength of the light, and therefore its color, depends on the band gap energy of the materials forming the pn junction. A normal diode, typically made of silicon or germanium, emits invisible far-infrared light, but the materials used for a LED have band gap energies corresponding to near-infrared, visible or near-ultraviolet light.

Unlike incandescent bulbs, which can operate with either AC or DC, LED's require a DC supply of the correct polarity. When the voltage across the pn junction is in the correct direction, a significant current flows and the device is said to be forward biased. The voltage across the LED in this case is fixed for a given LED and is proportional to the energy of the emitted photons. If the voltage is of the wrong polarity, the device is said to be reverse biased, very little current flows, and no light is emitted.

Conventional LED's are made of inorganic minerals such as:

aluminum gallium arsenide (AlGaAs) - red and infrared

gallium arsenide/phosphate (GaAsP) - red, orange and yellow

gallium nitride (GaN) - green

gallium phosphate (GaP) - green

zinc selenide (ZnSe) - blue

indium gallium nitride (InGaN) - blue

silicon carbide (SiC) - blue

diamond (C) - ultraviolet

LED development began with infrared and red devices, and technological advances have made possible the production of devices with ever shorter wavelengths.

Blue LED's became available in the late 1990s. They can be added to existing red and green LED's to produce white light. Most "white" LED's in production today use a blue LED chip covered by a scintillate coating made of Zinc solenoid (ZnSe). The LED chip emits blue light, part of which is converted to yellow by the ZnSe. This mixture of blue and yellow light creates the impression of white - hence the bluish or yellowish tint that these diodes usually exhibit.

The most recent innovation in LED technology is a device that can emit ultraviolet light. When ultraviolet light illuminates certain materials, these materials will fluoresce or give off visible light. White light LED's have been produced by building ultraviolet elements inside material that fluoresces to produce white light.

The semiconducting chip is encased in a solid plastic lens, which is much tougher than the glass envelope of a traditional light bulb or tube. The plastic may be colored, but this is only for cosmetic reasons and does not affect the color of the light emitted.

Most typical LED's are designed to operate with no more than 30-60 millewatts of electrical power. In 2002, 5 watt LED's became available with efficiencies of 18-22 lumens per watt.

SMD (Surface Mounted Device) LED's have been created that combine RGB (Red, Green, Blue - which can make White) color sources in one LED. This allows the display matrix, pitch, to be much closer. They are very expensive, but more importantly do not have the nits (candela per square meter) for outdoor use. Manufacturers currently brag that they can produce 4-6,000 nits. We are patiently watching this development.

Signs Manufacturing's Sunburst Displays™
Solarbrite™ LEDs are 8,000 to 13,000 nits, depending on color. (The brightness of Solarbrite™ LED's can be turned down if they are too bright.)

Many companies manufacture
LEDs. There are over 5,000 varied LEDs available,
and they vary greatly as to brightness, nits, lux, light-dispersal
(viewing) angle, useful lifetime, and lifetime.

Some are very cheap, some are quite
expensive.

Signs Manufacturing's Sunburst Displays™ only use Solarbrite™ LEDs
that are rated to retain 80% of their brightness for
60,000+ hours. These are the most expensive, but highest value, conventional LEDs.
Our selection of LEDs is what makes our signs brighter, and last longer.

A
Solarbrite™ LED incorporates a new kind of chip, different from all
other LED's.
Signs Manufacturing is an industry leader in the
implementation of new technology in advertising.

Solarbrite™ LEDs utilize military specification
coatings on the circuit boards the LEDs are attached to,
preventing corrosion and electrical problems.

LEDs are affected by
voltage. For instance, an LED will also burn nearly
100% brighter if you double the power feeding it.
The LED will last about 1/6 as long, however, making this
alternative quite expensive in total cost.

We power our Solarbrite™ LEDs properly, and offer a 5 year warranty on the LEDs in
our lighted signs.

Incandescent Lighting

Incandescent (household) lamps begin disappearing in 2012, starting with the 100 watt lamp, and will be mostly gone by 2014.

The Government has mandated that all these lamps, with 22 exceptions, must begin being at least 25% more energy efficient starting in 2014, 70% more efficient by 2020.

"Sign Service" lamps are exempt, but whether or not lamp manufacturers will recognize a big enough market to continue to make just them is problematic.

The Value of “Listed" Signs

Virtually ALL cities, as well as the State of Texas, adopt the National Electric Code as law.

The National Electric Code (NEC) requires that for electrical, structural, and installation safety all electrical signs be "Listed" (tested and labelled with an appropriate Listing Mark.)

Certification (testing and labelling) organizations acceptable in the USA to test to the multitude of Standards signs are required to meet are determined by OSHA.

For you the Listing Mark is insurance. It means that the sign has been tested to insure that it is structurally and electrically safe, and will be installed properly. You benefit from the knowledge that it is not solely us telling you that our signs are safe, this is what the testing laboratories and the US Government says also.

Underwriter's Laboratory (“UL” Listing Mark) and Intertek (“ETL” Listing Mark – originally Edison Testing Laboratory founded by Thomas Edison) are the premier certification organizations and 80% of all things electrical are tested by them.

If the sign you are purchasing does not have a ETL or UL Listing Mark label the sign is probably not legal to install, anywhere in Texas. There are a few local city ordinance exceptions.

Buy carefully.

Intertek is over twice the size of UL, and has a greater global presence. UL is the largest in the USA. We have both companies test and apply Listing Marks to various signs.

We are the third oldest ETL Listed sign company in Texas. (One of the two older companies makes lighted scoreboards, the other makes lighted office door signs.)

There are many sign companies that pretend to be Listed, but are not!

Incidentally, ISO (International Organization of Standardization) Standards, such as ISO 2001, are NOT electrical Listings (similar to a UL or ETL Listing) that allow a sign to be installed in Texas. That said, components in our electronic signs also meet ISO 2001, ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and RoHS standards.

Underwriter’s Laboratory and Intertek do NOT judge the appearance, appeal, or the longevity of a product. This is why our many years of experience serving international, national, regional and local customers, and our investment so that we can apply the knowledge we’ve gained, will give you a superior product which will impress your customers for years to come.

The Electrical Advantage of a “Listed" Sign

Listed Signs Save You Money.

Sunburst Displays Video Displays and Electronic Message Centers, because they are Listed, are approved to operate with approximately 40% of the power supply requirements of unlisted signs.

This is a huge savings in installation costs, as only 1/3 of the comparable electrical service needs to be provided.

And since the National Electrical Code limits the branch circuits serving signs to 20 amps maximum, this equates to many fewer circuits.

For safety, an untested sign (not Listed) must be supplied with enough electricity to meet the total “continuous” needs of each internal components rating. (Each components rating x 125%)

A Listed sign has been tested as a whole, and the amount of energy actually used has been determined. The sign is approved for use when supplied with this amount of electricity, regardless of the ratings of the individual components.

This is always much less than the rating of each internal component taken individually, so the cost of installing electricity to the sign will be significantly less.

Electrical

120 volt single phase service is normally required
because these Listed displays do not consume a great deal of
energy, but some units require 240 volt 1 phase.

Remember, however, that other parts of the sign will
have electrical requirements also.

This assures you of an even-more-trouble-free sign when you purchase from Signs Manufacturing Corporation.

Energy Consumption

Consumption varies by the type, size, and Light Density of the sign, the messages and pictures displayed, and when the sign is used (the signs use less energy at night, because the lights don’t have to be as bright.)

Projections we will provide using our Energy Estimating program have proven to be quite accurate.

Energy Caveat

Some electronic message center manufacturers, more
interested in the sale than the needs of the customer,
overdrive their LEDs to make them brighter (usually
because they are using inferior LEDs.)

Besides shortening the lifetime of the display to 1/6
of a properly manufactured display it wastes energy.

Sunburst Displays™ does none of this!

We do provide internal overvoltage, low voltage, spike and brownout protection for the sign. Many manufacturers do not.

Software

The system should have easy to use control software
with built in features such as scrolling and blinking
messages and a time and temperature display. It
should also allow you to preview both individual
messages and your whole display queue without forcing
you to show the world your half-finished ads by
running them on the display. The message should
be able to be changed from inside your business, or
the system should be configured so that “headquarters”
can change the message at each store.

Software Training

Learning how to program an electronic message center
is not hard.

Most good manufacturers have teaching CD’s in addition
to Technical Assistance.

Many have telephone training included as part of their
package.

Signs Manufacturing is particularly adept at these
systems, and helps our customers until they no longer
need us.

Then we come back when they find they were premature.

Product and Technical Support

Most important in an investment of this size is product support.

The electronic message center manufacturer must be large and dedicated enough that they will continue to support their products with parts.

Technical support must be easily available and there must be no limit to your access to it.

Even after you have become an expert, and years later, you might have difficulty programming a new-look message.

Make certain your electronic message center manufacturer and installer will be there to help you 24 hours a day.

Minimum Computer Requirements

Most up-to-date computers, purchased within 2 years,
have enough memory to create control programs.

It is usually NOT necessary to buy a
separate/additional computer to control an electronic
message center.

FREE Programming and FREE Computer

Each Sunburst Displays™ electronic message center or video display purchase includes a free laptop computer as a gift. We will also program one computer for free as a part of our Turn-Key™ installation.

The sign runs on its own internal processor so the programming computer only needs to be "on" when you are changing the program.

Encryption in both our sign’s and our programming computer’s software make the sign impossible to use by anyone else.

SolarGuard™ Protection for Sunburst Displays™

Our plastic faces that hold the LEDs, and Glare Shields, have internal UV protection. But
your sign needs to look nearly as good 10 to 15 years from
now as it looks the day it is installed.

The
longevity and appearance of plastic face materials are extended when they are coated with
SolarGuard™, a special, clear,
mar-resistant topcoat which protects plastics from
ultraviolet light and ozone so that they last longer, just like your eyeglasses have UV coatings to protect the
plastic lens.

Does SolarGuard™ Protection
Work? The face on the right was made of
“generic” red acrylic and black trim-cap. The left
half was coated with SolarGuard™ and the face was left
outside for ONLY 7 years; your sign will be out there much
longer!

(This product does not come from the traditional sign industry. Few sign manufacturers know about it, or where to get it.)

EMC faces that were NOT protected with SolarGuard™ (Click on each picture to Enlarge.)

Construction Details for Sunburst Displays™

Free-standing signs are engineered to survive a 140 mph wind.

All face-plates, the part of the sign that the display's external LED boards are mounted to, are CAD/CNC (Computer Aided Design/Computer Numerical Controlled) routed from solid aluminum plate, to prevent rusting and increase heat dissipation.

An extensive lattice-formed 3-dimensional aluminum frame is welded to the face-plate to insure rigidity and further aid in heat dissipation.

Aluminum is also used for all exterior surfaces of the sign cabinet, again to prevent future rusting.

Almost all Chinese-manufactured signs, among others, have steel cabinets and face-plates.

Revolutionary Ceramic Vacuum Microsphere Shield

High heat is very hard on electronics and LEDs, and shortens both their lives.

NASA, with the Space Shuttle program, has proven the value of insulating ceramic vacuum microspheres as a thermal barrier to both heat and cold.

While not as debilitating as temperatures experienced by the Shuttles, we commonly experience temperatures well over 200º inside Texas signs. Water boils at 212º at sea level.

Signs Manufacturing builds a better sign. We cover the metal exterior of each Sunburst LED Display™ with the same ceramic vacuum microsphere barrier developed by NASA.

We have documented 30% internal heat differences, 60º cooler at 200º, accompanied by an 80% increase in heat dissipation when compared to identical signs without our ceramic shield.

NASA confirms that 90% of solar infrared and 85% of ultraviolet rays are reflected back into the atmosphere by this revolutionary product.

Visually the only difference is the very slightly textured appearance of our ceramic barrier when compared to uncoated metal; a small price to pay, especially since you will never notice the difference. We still use the same wonderful paints with the same excellent results.

Impact protection from hail, asteroids, and other objects is vastly improved also.

Made in Texas, for Texans, by Us.™

Free Factory Tour

Come and see the array of equipment
and tools, and the facility dedicated to making good
signs.

Quality Certified Signs™ Trained Technicians

All Sunburst Displays™ shop, installation and service personnel are QualityCertifiedSigns™ trained technicians.

Certified Welding

We are virtually the only sign company in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex employing certified welders.

Manufacturing Lead-Times

The quality suppliers get their product to us in
4-8 weeks. Our manufacturing cycle is usually slightly shorter than this.

Since most electronic message centers are built into
or installed as part of additional signs we need
time to fit the parts together.

Warranty

Sunburst Displays™ warranty is the STRONGEST TOTAL WARRANTY for Digital LED Video Displays and Electronic Message Centers in the industry!

If ANY part of a Sunburst Displays™ video display or electronic message center fails in the first three years of service, if properly supplied with power, Sunburst Displays™ will provide BOTH parts and service FREE OF CHARGE through Signs Manufacturing Corporation.

Even stronger, this Initial Warranty is extendable to six years.

Plus, Sunburst Displays™ warrants their signs with a LIFETIME* WARRANTY, again through Signs Manufacturing Corporation, that reduces both normal labor rates for service, and parts costs, 20% forever.

Sunburst Displays™ Lifetime* Warranty is transferable at no additional cost!

Virtually no other LED Video Display or Digital Electronic Message Center manufacturer IN THE WORLD provides a warranty on ANY labor, much less a transferrable warranty.

Additionally, after the Initial Warranty period, Sunburst Displays™ will provide free replacement parts for any previously replaced part that fails within one year of installation.

Other manufacturers whose products we install and service have varying new-sign parts-only warranties that average 3 years.

"Our
($70,000) electronic-message-centers were nightmares. Even
though they were only 2 years old the manufacturer
refused to service them. Your new signs, and
your service, have been exceptional."

Major
Vincent, Salvation Army

"...I had to hound Vital ***** (a sign broker) for weeks and weeks, then I had to call ******** (the manufacturer) to finally get a hold of Vital *****. I thought Vital ***** was taking my deposit money and running. When he asked for the second deposit I was kind of hesitant based on my experience with him. I did some research on Vital ***** and there were judgments in Dallas County, civil judgments for Vital ***** taking money and not putting up a sign! But the manufacturer said I had to deal with him, and he already had a great deal of my money.

The installation company he subcontracted with, City *****, finally did show up and after giving them another $30,000 the sign was installed but City ***** didn't pay Vital *****, I guess, his "fair cut" of it.

Vital ***** was initially mad at City ***** and then he was mad at me, so he came and took the controller out of the sign so now it doesn't even work! I tried to go back to ******** (the manufacturer), and gave them all of the documentation and they said it's between me and Vital *****, they won't do anything about it. I'm never dealing any way but directly with a manufacturer again!"

Mr. Sinkler, Freedom Wash

"...the sign will be dismantled. ...not knowing when and how to get parts was a major factor..."

Cathy Clarke, Johnson Elementary School, Southlake. They are throwing away their $40,000 six-month old sign because they can't get parts to repair it (company out of business.)

“We bought an Adapxxxx Displays LED Message Center. I'll be glad when the warranty has expired and I can justify a new Sunburst LED Display. So far the labor installing our "free" repair parts is over $6,000.”

Miles Pennington, Trinity Valley Community College

“We have spent over $6,300 installing warranty parts in our LED message center. Wish we had your warranty!”

David Worley, Harvest Church

Controlling Message Center and Video Display Cost

Electronic Message Centers and Video Displays cost a lot of money, but they achieve tremendous results.

To keep from spending more money than necessary, consider the design of your sign and the results you want to achieve.

Rather than purchase a larger, blank, rectangular message center and display your name and all other information on it, consider incorporating signage that constantly displays the messages you want to constantly display. It will cost less, and look better!

Because we manufacture and install all types of signage, not just electronic message centers, we can design, build, and install the most cost efficient and effective signage for you
(see our "Design & Marketing" page!)

Select the tab "Electronic
Message Center Check List". This is a tool
for your use to insure that quotations you receive
are for the same sign! Insist that your
bidders fill-in each line, then sign the document
when they give you their quote.

Full-Service
Facility

Our modern 1.2 acre (under roof)
production facility, with both high and low dock doors, is
located on a 3 acre concrete pad; the additional area
being used for parking and "clean" outside storage.
One-half acre is planted greenbelt.

If you are seriously considering buying from someone else we suggest that you also visit their location to observe if they can actually do what they say they can; or at least “Google” their address. A lot of competitors who present themselves as manufacturers actually only buy and resell signs, working out of a house, office building, small warehouse, or storefront!

State Licensed Sign Installation and Sign Service

We are a full-service sign company.
We
provide
sign site surveys,
sign permits,
sign installation
and
sign maintenance
services for electrical and non-electrical signs for our customers as well as other sign
companies. We
provide this work in Dallas, Fort Worth (DFW), and ALL of
North Texas and Northeast Texas.